Metsa Regional House
(smad tsha khang tshan)

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Images of Metsa Regional House

THL Reference Number: s015

College Affiliation: Mé (smad)

Regional House Affiliation: Métsa (smad tsha)

One of the largest khang tshan of the smad college, smad tsha regional house is one the khang tshan-s with the greatest number of bla ma-s. This is the main compound of this regional house. Given its association with the founder of se ra smad, this khang tshan could be the original site of the smad college. The main temple may be very old. It was not destroyed, but all of the religious artifacts inside the temple are new. Many of the murals -- both inside the temple and in the entry portal -- are original, but have all been restored. There used to be monastic quarters to the left (west) as one is looking at the khang tshan temple. These were destroyed and have not been rebuilt. The main kitchen (yellow in color) in the northeast corner of the compound is new.

sMad tsha had several spyi khang-s or monastic apartment complexes separate from the main khang tshan compound, one of which, located in what is now empty field #91, has been completely destroyed. Another (#13) survives. Many of the monks that belonged to the Tantric College (sngags pa grwa tshang) lived in tsha smad tsha khang tshan. What is now sngags pa spyi khang may have been another apartment complex belonging to this khang tshan.

The khang tshan produced at least one holder of the dga' ldan throne -- the 68th, blo bzang dge legs (1757-1816), a later incarnation of which, tsha ba khri sprul ngag dbang blo bzang (1880-1957), was the teacher of the contemporary scholar, dung mkhar blo zang 'phrin las, who died in Lhasa in the last decade. This regional house was also home to the spang lung incarnation lineage (18th century to present). The spang lung ri khrod is one of the hermitages under the control of se ra smad.

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